Post by n***@gmail.comSome say Haitti is the architypal failed negroid state, that's
had over 200 years to 'get over' slavery and colonialism.
Haiti needs water, not occupation
The US has never wanted Haitian self-rule, and its focus on 'security
concerns' has hampered the earthquake aid response
Mark Weisbrot guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 20 January 2010 23.00 GMT
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On Monday, six days after the earthquake in Haiti, the US Southern
Command finally began to drop bottled water and food from an air
force C-17. US defence secretary Robert Gates had previously rejected
such a method because of "security concerns".
If people do not get clean water, there could be epidemics of
water-borne diseases that could greatly increase the death toll.
But the US is now sending 10,000 troops and seems to be prioritising
"security" over much more urgent, life-and-death needs. This in
addition to the increase of 3,500 UN troops scheduled to arrive.
On Sunday morning the world-renowned humanitarian group Doctors
Without Borders complained that a plane carrying its portable
hospital unit was re-routed by the US military through the Dominican
Republic. This would cost a crucial 48 hours and an unknown number
of lives.
On Sunday, Jarry Emmanuel, air logistics officer for the UN's World
Food Programme, said: "There are 200 flights going in and out every
day, which is an incredible amount for a country like Haiti ... But
most flights are for the US military."
Yet Lieutenant General PK Keen, deputy commander of the US Southern
Command, reports that there is less violence in Haiti now than there
was before the earthquake hit. Dr Evan Lyon, of Partners in Health,
a medical aid group famous for its heroic efforts in Haiti, referred
to "misinformation and rumours and racism" concerning security
issues.
We've been circulating throughout the city until 2:00 and 3:00 in
the morning every night, evacuating patients, moving materials.
There's no UN guards.
There's no US military presence. There's no Haitian police presence.
And there's also no violence. There is no insecurity.
To understand the US government's obsession with "security concerns,"
we must look at the recent history of Washington's involvement
there.
Long before the earthquake, Haiti's plight has been comparable to
that of many homeless people on city streets in the US: too poor
and too black to have the same effective constitutional and legal
rights as other citizens. In 2002, when a US-backed military coup
temporarily toppled the elected government of Venezuela, most
governments in the hemisphere responded quickly and helped force
the return of democratic rule. But two years later, when Haiti's
democratically elected president Jean-Bertrand Aristide was kidnapped
by the US and flown to exile in Africa, the response was muted.
Unlike the two centuries of looting and pillage of Haiti since its
founding by a slave revolt in 1804, the brutal occupation by US
marines from 1915 to 1934, the countless atrocities under dictatorships
aided and abetted by Washington, the 2004 coup cannot be dismissed
as "ancient history." It was just six years ago, and it is directly
relevant to what is happening there now.
The US, together with Canada and France, conspired openly for four
years to topple Haiti's elected government, cutting off almost all
international aid in order to destroy the economy and make the
country ungovernable. They succeeded. For those who wonder why there
are no Haitian government institutions to help with the earthquake
relief efforts, this is a big reason.
Or why there are 3 million people crowded into the area where the
earthquake hit. US policy over the years also helped destroy Haitian
agriculture, for example, by forcing the import of subsidised US
rice and wiping out thousands of Haitian rice farmers.
Aristide, the country's first democratically elected president, was
overthrown after just seven months in 1991, by military officers
and death squads later discovered to be in the pay of the CIA. Now
Aristide wants to return to his country, something that the majority
of Haitians have demanded since his overthrow. But the US does not
want him there. And the Reni Prival government, which is completely
beholden to Washington, has decided that Aristide's party the largest
in Haiti will not be allowed to compete in the next elections
(originally scheduled for next month).
Washington's fear of democracy in Haiti may explain why the US is
now sending 10,000 troops and prioritising "security" over other
needs.
This military occupation by US troops will raise other concerns in
the hemisphere, depending on how long they stay just as the recent
expansion of the US military presence in Colombia has been met with
considerable discontent and distrust in the region. And non-governmental
organisations have raised other issues about the proposed reconstruction:
understandably they want Haiti's remaining debt cancelled, and
grants rather than loans (the IMF has proposed a $100m dollar loan).
Reconstruction needs will be in the billions of dollars: will
Washington encourage the establishment of a functioning government?
Or will it prevent that, channelling aid through NGOs and taking
over various functions itself, because it of its long-standing
opposition to Haitian self-rule?
But most urgently, there is a need for rapid delivery of water. The
US air force has the capability to deliver enough water for everyone
who needs it in Haiti, until ground supply chains can be established.
The more water is available, the less likely there is to be fighting
or rioting over this scarce resource. Food and medical supplies
could also be supplied through air drops.
These operations should be ramped up, immediately. There is no time
to lose.
--
Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
Web: http://hayesfam.bravehost.com/stevesig.htm
Blog: http://methodius.blogspot.com
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk
